Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister, has said there will be a cap on tuition fees, despite Lord Browne’s review suggesting the cap be removed.
Clegg appeared on Andrew Marr’s BBC show on Sunday, October 24th. Marr pushed Clegg over fees, asking if they would be capped, to which Clegg replied “correct”.
Vince Cable, secretary of state for business, innovation, and skills, said in his statement to parliament in reaction to the Browne review: “We are considering a [yearly tuition fee] level of £7,000. Many universities and colleges may well decide to charge less than that, since there is clearly scope for greater efficiency and innovation in the way universities operate.”
The cap is currently set at £3,290, which is what the University of Lincoln charges for most of its undergraduate courses.
Professor Mary Stuart, vice-chancellor of the University of Lincoln, has hit out at the possibility of a rise in fees. She said: “I have always felt higher education should be properly publicly funded. It is a great shame that we do not as a nation feel we can do that. My stance is that higher education must be properly funded and I would be loathed to see students have to pay more.”
The university has always raised fees in line with any increase in the cap. If the cap is raised and the university sticks to this trend, Lincoln students may pay £7,000 a year in fees.